Kegs rusting?

[ramz7887]

After cutting the tops of my kegs some of the metal pieces have stuck to the inside and rusted. I used a SS wire Drememl tool and cleaned off the rust but I read that the SS has to cure in order to be stainless again. I kept it dry but the moisture in the air is causing some of the spots to rust up again. I heard that there was some type of additive ( i think its acid based) you could put on there to speed up the process, anyone know what it is and where I can get it?

thanks

 

[Sawdustguy]

The problem you have is that somehow ferrous metal (iron) got on the inside of the kettle. If you cleaned the inside with a wire brush it is only gonna get worse. Never use anything with ferrous metal (iron) in it on Stainless. The ferrous metal (iron) will impregnate itself into the Stainless and it will be guarantied to rust.

One comment... you don't want to use a metal brush on stainless steel unless the brush is also made of stainless steel. You'll get ferrous steel in your stainless steel and that'll cause rust.

As stated before don't use anything with carbon steel to prep. If you use cutting wheels make sure they are new or have never been used on carbon steel. I think aluminum oxides are ok but not 100% on that. any carbon steel that touches it will (rub off) and you will have a rust point.

 

[ramz7887]

I used a SS wire dremel tool to strip off the rust and then wiped it clean.

 

[BorderBrewer]

Hi,
You need to passivate the stainless. Start by scrubbing off the rust spots with Bar Keepers Friend and a green scrubbie. BKF contains Oxalic acid that will aid in the passivation.

Scrub the rust spots until they are removed, the key is to clean the stainless to bare metal then rinse liberally with warm water and dry.

If the rust spots reappear, you may need to passivate with 20 minutes of contact with a solution of equal parts 50% Nitric acid and water (add the acid to the water). The Nitric acid will dissolve any free iron or other contaminants from the surface and re-oxidize the chromium which is the stainless layer of the metal.

Regards,
BorderBrewer

 

[ramz7887]

Hi,
You need to passivate the stainless. Start by scrubbing off the rust spots with Bar Keepers Friend and a green scrubbie. BKF contains Oxalic acid that will aid in the passivation.

Scrub the rust spots until they are removed, the key is to clean the stainless to bare metal then rinse liberally with warm water and dry.

If the rust spots reappear, you may need to passivate with 20 minutes of contact with a solution of equal parts 50% Nitric acid and water (add the acid to the water). The Nitric acid will dissolve any free iron or other contaminants from the surface and re-oxidize the chromium which is the stainless layer of the metal.

Regards,
BorderBrewer

Thanks that Was what I was trying to find out. I heard about passivation but I couldn't find what chemicals to use. I was gonna use CLR but Wasn't sure about how it would react with the internal parts. I found some on Amazon for 2.50 a can.